HANDCRAFTED TILE

TILE AS UNIQUE AS YOUR HOME

Pasadena was the center of the Arts and Crafts Movement in California. It was the home of Ernest Batchelder, the famed tile maker of the early 1900's. It is now also the home and the heart of our ceramic studio.

Pasadena Craftsman Tile follows in the spirit of the Arts and Crafts Movement. In all of our original commissions, walls, fireplaces, fountains and floors, we adhere to the ethos of the movement, we elevate craftsmanship and the natural world, over mass production and uniformity. Each tile requires artistic judgment and careful workmanship.

Our custom carved tiles are fired 2 to 3 times over 2150 degrees F. The glaze is applied by hand in a manner that accentuates the relief and lets the clay body show through. We begin by creating a full scale drawing of the frieze to be carved, then transfer the art to moist clay. We often spend several days carving the bas-relief as the texture of the clay changes allowing for increasing levels of detail.

In addition to our custom carvings and field tile, we offer a beautiful collection of Batchelder Revivals, all hand-made and slipcast from molds taken from original Batchelder relief tiles. Our revival tiles preserve the designs and feel of Batchelder, but are fired at a higher temperature, creating a more durable, wear-resistant tile.

Our tiles are suitable for interior, exterior, wall, and floor installations where freezing is not an issue. All of our decorative tiles can be made with matching field tile. Each batch of tile is glazed by hand and is highly variable in color, ensuring your project is truly unique.